Intergenerational programming: 10 ideas for family fun by Colin Milner

Today’s older adults can look forward to long relationships with their grandchildren, according to recent research. A 2002 AARP study of 1,500 grandparents found that people were 48 years-old, on average, when their first grandchild arrived, with almost half the respondents younger than 50 when this event occurred. With average life expectancy at an all-time high for Americans—74.7 years for men and 79.9 years for women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—older adults can now spend decades as grandparents. As a result, they are developing deeper relationships with their grandchildren and taking grandparenting more seriously.